BIG GAME FISH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 36, 12 February 1943, Page 2

BIG GAME FISH

CANNED IN AUCKLAND

WARTIME DEVELOPMENT

Five and a half hours after leaving Tauranga a truck backed into an Auckland fisheries establishment, and under a tarpaulin lay the bodies of eight swordfish. What a sorry sight they looked, bereft of their powerful tails and menacing swords, huddled together like so many cigars in a box. What were they for? They had come all the way from the Bay of Plenty to be canned! Although swordfish steaks are not well known to Aucklanders, visitors have declared that this meat is a popular delicacy in the United States. Mr. J. J. Enwright, managing director of an Auckland firtn which cans all types of fish, stated yesterday that his company was c(mcentrating on canning all varieties of fish that up to now had no marketable value in New Zealand. After the war, when refrigerated shipping space is available, these fish will be exported in hard frozen ■condition to the U.S.A., where a ready market awaits them.

Mighty Tigers of the Deep The swordfish which arrived from Tauranga yesterday were the result of fishing by big-game sportsmen. In former seasons, when an angler hooked a mighty tiger of the deep, he was photographed standing proudly alongside his catch, cut oft the bill, and then had the remainder tossed back into the sea. Now the launchmen who take the anglers out in their boats keep the carcases, which are converted into canned meat. Operations are also likely to be developed in North Auckland on a scale rivalling those in the Bay of Plenty. The total weight of the fish brought to Auckland yesterday was about 25001b. The largest was a black marlin of 3721b. It was estimated that with bill and tail and prior to cleaning one would have turned the scales at 4801b. Mr. Enwright was careful to point out that the sport of big-game fishing would not be interfered with by this new industry, now in its first season. In America, he said, a fleet of boats armed with harpoons was sent out, but were that done here the sport of deep-sea angling might be ruined. In New Zealand only fish caught by sportsmen would be taken. Fishermen would make extra money out of the carcases, and would be able to hire their boats out at a cheaper rate than previously. Hence the sport might enjoy a wider popularity. Other Deep-sea Denizens Other varieties of fish canned by this young New Zealand industry are mullet, trevalli, kahawai, kmgfish and tuna. The tuna is known in the United States under the name, "chicken of the sea," as the meat is similar to poultry. Frozen tuna sent from New Zealand to the United States prior to the war arrived there in better condition than that exported by Japan. The most important features of this new development are its value in 'r-pplying canned fish to the armed services and the local community, and in building up the fish oil industry, which is so necessary now in view of the scarcity of imported oils. Swordfish (marlin), tuna arid kingfish liver oil is very high in vitamin D, while shark livers are high in vitamin A. A special fish oil committee has now been set up in Wellington in conjunction with the Department of Industrial and Scientific Research, and steps are now being taken to develop ;.the industry along sound lines.